Conventional internal combustion engines rely upon a process for creating a mixture of ambient air and fuel. Suction created by the engine draws the air/fuel mixture into the cylinder of the internal combustion engine where it is ignited so as to drive a piston in a downward motion. This process is repeated so that the piston alternates between being in an open and a compressed position, which rotates a crank shaft and produces rotational force. In the case of engines utilizing fuel injection, fuel injectors may directly inject fuel into the cylinder when the piston is in its compressed state just prior to combustion.
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a standard combustion engine. The combustion engine has an engine block 10, ignition coils 11, fuel injectors 12, an air intake 13, and air intake manifold 14. Gasified fuel enters the engine block 10 through the injectors 12 and air enters through the air intake 13. The process of combusting the gas in the cylinder cores 15 is illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. In the conventional system fuel may not be gasified adequately or completely.
FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the combustion process inside the cylinder of an engine. In FIG. 2A, part of the engine block 1 is shown. Fuel and air (containing oxygen) is fed into the cylinder 2 through input port 3. The crankshaft 4 turns causing the piston head 5 to withdraw from the cylinder top 6, FIG. 2B. Simultaneously, the input port 3 continues to fill the cylinder with a combination of fuel and gas. The crankshaft 4 continues to turn causing the piston head 5 to compress the fuel and air in the cylinder 2, FIG. 2C. Spark plug 7 ignites the fuel and air when the piston head 5 reaches the cylinder top 6. The resulting explosion causes the piston head to push downward, turning the crankshaft 4, FIG. 2D. Carbon dioxide, water, heat, and other byproducts are expelled from the cylinder 2, from the waste gate 8.
One way to increase the strength and efficiency of the combustion process is to add ozone gas to the cylinders of an engine. Sabetay GB 714,015, JP2002-309941A, FR2288870, JP 10-205397, and JP 2000-179369 all describe a process for injecting ozone, fuel, and air into a combustion engine. As will be described in the summary and detailed description of the invention, the present invention describes a number of components and improvements not present in these systems. While these systems all differ in their design, explaining how the Sabetay system functions is helpful for understanding the state of the prior art.
As shown in FIG. 3, air enters the system at S6 (the numbers are the same as in the Sabetay patent except ‘S’ has been added to avoid confusion with FIGS. 2A-2D). The oxygen in the air is transformed into ozone gas via the ozone generator S3, which has tubes S4 and electrode S5. Fuel is added via fuel nozzle S7. The fuel, ozone and air are heated at copper plate S8 having perforations S9. Plate S10 is heated to a temperature higher than plate S8. The fuel from nozzle S7 is vaporized by plate S8, which then is superheated by plate S10. S11 and S12 are electromagnets each having a pole shoe S13. Homogenizer or winged/mixing wheel S14 mixes the air, ozone, and gasified fuel (the “gas mixture”) to homogenize the gases. While being homogenized, electromagnets S11 and S12 subject the gas mixture to a magnetic field, which assists in the homogenization. Electrodes S16 and S17 apply a potential between them (between 6v-24v). There is no sparking between the electrodes. The gas mixture is passed then to the cylinders of the engine S20.
Applicant in reviewing Sabetay's work has made the following observations. Sabetay's apparatus has a fairly large footprint making placement in the engine compartment of a vehicle difficult. Sabetay's design also allows the ozone gas to decay back to O2, because of the long period of time the ozone gas remains in the output port S19 before entering the engine S20. Sabetay's system requires electromagnets and moving parts such as homogenizer S14 (the function of S18 is not disclosed in Sabetay's Patent). These parts may require replacement, require shielding, consume energy, and increase the cost of manufacture. Sabetay's system also requires two heating plates to gasify the fuel, which requires additional energy to operate. In addition, the fuel may condense back into a fluid as it enter the engine S20, because of the time required to enter the engine chamber and also because the cooler temperature of the cylinder may promote condensation of the gasified fuel.